be happy

Wednesday Reminders – Comfort

| The Bee Life

Being comfortable comes with a lot of positives and negatives.  Do you agree?

On the positive side, it takes us as human beings (some, not all) a while to get comfortable with a new school, new job, new friend or significant other, etc. It can take years! And finally once we are comfortable, what a relief and ease of potential stress or tension. With comfort your sense of being open and honest, and even trusting can grow and become stronger, which allows relationships and opportunities to grow and heightens your ability to learn. The only thing to fear is change in that comfort.

On the negative side, it’s some of those same positives that can get us into trouble.
In the workplace: The ability to be open and honest can sometimes get blurred on the edge of professional and personal, leading to an uncomfortable situation. We also might be more likely to over look a negative situation because finding a new job and going to the “first day” again is nerve racking and stressful, a pep talk to suck it up often does the trick. In a relationship: Even in a relationship being too honest with no filter can lead to hurt feelings, without intention – the same could go with not speaking up about certain things, sweeping things under the rug because it’s easier.  Or being too comfortable to the part where our self-image is overlooked also hurts too.  Falling into a pattern of not working out or motivating each other simply because your partner doesn’t, this will only cause tension in the long run.

I had a great opportunity last week to listen to the CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer speak about her experiences and career, and a comment she made struck a cord – I think because I know it to be true. She mentioned that a lot of the opportunities she had came at risk, whether it was joining Google when it was a start-up or leaving Google after 13-years to start a new venture… when we as humans are comfortable, we don’t always like taking a risk or we can’t afford too. But we can.  She also said that the ability to learn, opened her up to the idea of change and that change can be good. This really got me thinking about how change and being uncomfortable might be the best thing for us sometimes, even though it is something we often resist.

How will you push your boundaries of comfort today?

Balancing Life

| The Bee Life

Work: “activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.”

Life(style): “the way in which a person or group lives.”

Balance: “an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.”

Work - Life
With no major vacation this year, I am having some serious struggles with my work-life balance, not to mention my workout routine has been nonexistent, and I hate it.

Being able to workout and maintain a healthy lifestyle is something that is important to me, although it mostly annoys me that cost and work get in the way of a large portion of things that make me happy and used to be a huge aspect of my day-to-day routine. Knowing that I am essentially gym-less and on my own to get some motivation (and have to work) I decided to put together a list of items to be more cognizant of starting ASAP at home and at work (because complaining gets you nowhere).

Life

  • Morning workouts & weekend runs: Waking up an hour earlier to do a set of exercises for 30-40 minutes in the morning is more than I am currently doing – taking advantage of free time on the weekends will balance out anything missed during the week
  • Breakfast & Coffee at home: Waking up earlier will allow time to prep a breakfast and make coffee, so that I won’t be tempted by Starbucks which is in the lobby of my office building
  • Walks with Moz: A quick walk at the end of the day allows for the extra motivation and fresh air – maybe even a quick walk in the morning
  • Yoga before bed: I have a 10-minute yoga routine I do occasionally before bed, it needs to happen more often
  • Weekly scrap-booking: It’s something I love to do and don’t do enough up, I have a lot of catching up to do!  Even if it’s 30-minutes a week

Work

  • Afternoon fresh air: A quick walk around the block to break up the afternoon and recharge will take 5-10minutes out of the day but have a lasting effect
  • Packing a lunch & snacks: Will allow for me to save money and not be tempted by a quick sub or the leftovers in the cafe
  • Stay above the crap: It’s so easy to get sucked in or be the hitting board for someone’s bad day – remembering to stay above that and not sweating the small stuff
  • Drinking more water: No explanation needed

I want to start with little items that can be accomplished in order to stay focused and not get overwhelmed, creating good habits is half the battle – so starting small makes sense.  How do you maintain a good balance between life and work?

#weekendhangover

| The Bee Life

What a weekend! It was so busy, and so much fun – so many awesome things happened.

The big focal point around the weekend, was celebrating my aunts’ wedding – yes you read that correctly aunts, plural.  They decided to get married last month, just 2-weeks after the big Supreme Court decision.  So finally on Saturday we got to celebrate their marriage with family and friends.  Family started pouring in for the weekend Friday night with festivities starting early Saturday!

I was the designated photographer for my aunts, so I was busy popping around to all 170 guests making sure everyone was photographed, not to mention the group shots and cake cutting!  The cake cutting was about the only ‘wedding reception-esq’ thing that happened, besides an open bar with endless drinks.

The night ended over at our house, with some more drinks and a smaller crowd of the family – I was happy to host everyone around our dining room table.

Saturday also was a big day for B’s family, his brother and sister-in-law welcomed their first little girl, Avery into the world. She is the first grandchild, so it was a big deal!  We went to the hospital Sunday afternoon to meet her and see the new mom and dad!

The weekend was full of close family, good friends, lots of laughs and more memories to add to the books.  Moz even got to meet her new cousin, Findley (my aunt’s new puppy).  It was a nonstop weekend full of fun. I definitely have a weekend hangover to start this Monday off.

Ten Things

| The Bee Life

Here are ten senseless distractions; and a quick read to get to know a little more about me!  I saw this idea in another blog I like to read; Centsational Girl and loved this idea and thought it would be the perfect distraction for my afternoon. It was hard just picking one answer for each, but I tried my best.

1. If money was no object, what’s something you’d buy right now.  My own personal gym.

2. Spring vs. Fall ? Fall – clam bakes, sweaters, pumpkins, coffee, jeans, scarfs, cool runs… shall I continue?
3. What’s on your nightstand?  Pictures of me and B and my glasses.

4. What’s your favorite room in your house?  Our sunroom! 5. If you could have lunch with anyone in the world, who would it be?  Too many choices…. it’s a toss up between Derek Jeter and Katy Perry

6. Name one thing on your bucket list.  Sky dive with B

7. What’s the best vacation you’ve taken?  Jackson Hole w/ B and my parents! The company makes all the difference.
8. Congratulations, you just won an all expenses paid trip to Ireland and Germany!

9. Backyard BBQ or Formal Dinner?  Formal dinner – I love getting dressed up, and sitting around the table sharing stories, good laughs and a bottle of wine.
10. What advice would you give your teen self?   There is a much bigger world out there; explore it as much as possible, and even if you break away – there is still a bigger world beyond that.

Weekend in the Woods

| The Bee Life

This past weekend B and I got out of town for a quick weekend getaway to the Cabin in the Woods.  I grew up in the country, but even this place is a little bit in the middle of nowhere for me.  I couldn’t even tell you where the closest gas station or grocery store would be, nor do you pass one on the way.


It’s always nice to get away to this little retreat, it’s so quiet and peaceful – but also extremely buggy. Plus it’s super close to one of our favorite breweries – Southern Tier, so of course we headed up there for the afternoon too.  Tasty beers, great food and an awesome atmosphere – we stay for hours.  We’ve made a yearly tradition out of it, but will definitely be going back before Summer’s end.

When we are back at the cabin we usually relax, and play board games (like Sorry!) and walk around the property with Moz.  She was super fascinated with the frogs while we walked around the pond, every time they jumped in and made a splash she would get scared and then become super curious! It was so cute. We also visited a homemade ice cream shop in the nearby ‘town’ – massive portions, huge selection and so cheap!

It was a fun – quick weekend away. I love creating memories, and traditions with B, even if they’re simple.

House Party

| The Bee Life

Our house was officially broken-in since we hosted our house warming party on Saturday!  I would say the party was a success overall.  The weather of course wasn’t as warm as I had hoped, in fact it was almost chilly, a cool 60-degrees, it would’ve been perfect had it been October. We had plenty of food and plenty of alcohol… we have so many leftovers, but I am not complaining about that! A lot of friends came that we hadn’t seen in awhile, that meant a lot and it was great catching up with them.

It was nice to be able to share our home with some many people who are near and dear to us, the first of many parties, I am sure.  I will hopefully get the food/drink portions down a little better and also try and be a little less stressed pre-party. We could probably have a second party with all the beer and left overs we have!

Wednesday Reminders – Life

| The Bee Life

My daily quote box in my office inspired me once again:

FullSizeRender

Sometimes our goals are life related but often times they’re work, or school related; which can lead to hard and negative situations that can so easily get us down or set us back, it’s only human nature.  It’s true at times that negatives/set backs can push us forward and make us work harder. But I think more importantly than the negative; we as humans often forget about the positive (guilty) which I think at times so much harder to be cognizant of.  As the quote above reminds us that life needs to be enjoyed before our goals can truly be rewarded.  To put the icing on the cake, I read another perfectly fitting and great reminder scrolling through my instagram feed last night, @alexajeanfitness posted;

“It’s easy to fall into the trap of replaying negative situations from the day that you wish you’d handled differently. Regardless of how badly the day went, the best thing to do is avoid that pessimistic spiral of negative self-talk because it will only create more stress. Remember to take some time to reflect on the positive moments of the day and celebrate the successes, even if they were few and far between.”

Yes! I did this all day yesterday, replayed a conversation that I wish hadn’t happened, and I wish I’d responded differently towards – and I read this and realized that the entire day I was grumpy and miserable and stressed because all I focused on was the negative. We need to remember to reflect and talk about the positives; and not in a coincidental way (my mom did that yesterday.)

So this morning I finally got a good laugh to snap me out of my grumpy funk, all at B’s expense but it was so needed, so thank you B ❤

I am owning situations, I am owning my actions and I am going to start talking about the positives and start enjoying life beyond my goals. Happy Wednesday!

Wednesday Reminders – Perspective

| The Bee Life

Lately there has been a lot of not so fun stuff happening, for a lot of people in my life and it really puts life into perspective.

It also leads to a lot of questions like… Why?
Or statements like… That’s not fair.

Sometimes things can easily be accepted by saying; “Everything happens for a reason.” But beyond the internal back and forth of reassuring and questioning, one thing is very evident, life and moments are so precious. That thing at work that might be stressing you out, or that petty fight you’re in with your friend, family or significant other, does it really matter? Do we really need to get all bent out of shape about small insignificant things, when there are much bigger things than ourselves happening? The answer is no.

So here is my challenge to all of you (myself included): do something nice for someone, even if it’s someone who you do something nice for everyday, go above and beyond. Write them a note, give them a compliment. Go apologize to that person you can’t get over a grudge with, be the bigger person. Smile today and be grateful.

My to do list for today

Wednesday Reminders – Snow happy

| The Bee Life

It’s a snowy January day and it’s hard not to stop and take a moment and watch the big fluffy flakes fall slowly like being in a giant snow globe.

I love this quote, and today I am trying to pause for the day (and rest of the week) and just be happy and content. One of my goals for 2015 is to live in the moment, and that includes the happy moments. Nothing crazy has happened, in fact I am super busy, lots of plans and busy days are coming, late nights after work with extra-curricular activities, back to back (which I don’t always like). But I am going to enjoy them, have fun, and just soak up the memories and the time.

If there is anything I’ve learned of late, it’s that things change very quickly.  Friends/family are starting to have babies… getting married… moving away, and it’s all happening so quickly and a little out of the blue (not so much the weddings) and before you know it we are going to be all old and sitting in rocking chairs talking about that one day in 2015. #Terrifying

But… I digress. Here is my challenge to you: try to be happy with me for the next three days! It doesn’t have to be 100% happy but it needs to be 90% happy. I bet we’ll feel better, things won’t be so hard or stressful, because there is always a brighter side.